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[Fact/Fiction]  [Time Capsule]  [Diary]

Starting your own Diary

The first step is to get yourself a blank book. It is best if it already has lines to write on. A spiral notebook will do great!

Set up your page like this and use these questions to get started:

Date

Dear Diary,

• What did you do today?



• How did you feel?



• What is happening that is important to you?
  
  
• What are some of your favorite things?

Here is an example.

November 27, 2000

Dear Diary,
Today I went to school and saw tons of my friends. I really like school and my teacher is neat. I felt good today because we made paintings, which is my favorite activity! My family is planning on moving soon which is a little scary but also exciting. My new room will be cool and I don't have to share with my sister any more, which is awesome. Now I am going to watch my favorite movie, Austin Powers.

What can you learn from a Diary? Take another look at the example:

Learning from Language:
Language changes through time. Different generations have different words that become part of everyday speech. This is called slang. What slang words are found in the example? tons, neat, cool, and awesome
While these words seem normal to us, someone reading this 20 years ago or even 20 years in the future might not understand what they mean. Let's look at some old fashion slang.

Some of these words include graveled, affront and risibility.
If someone used these phrases today would you know what they meant without this guide? Slang changes fairly often. Ask your parents what slang words were popular when they were young.

What other information can give us clues about the time period?
When you write or read a diary the first very important information is the date. This tells you exactly what time period the diary is from. But what if you want to learn more about the year or even the exact date the diary was written? This is when we can become detectives! In the example above, the author says that his/her favorite movie is Austin Powers. Did they have movies in 1861? No! There is your first clue. Not only do you know that there are movies in the time period this was written but you can find out when Austin Powers was made and know if the author is going to see the movie in a theater or on video!

Leaving clues for people in the future:
What in your life can describe the time in which you live? How about a description of your room? The objects you have might be very different than those in the future. Even your clothing styles might be ver different. You could start your diary by writing what you wore that day. Finally you can tell the future readers about what is going on in the world at that time. In A Light in the Storm, Amelia Martin writes about the Civil War. Is there anything important going on in your town? Ask your parents about some current events that you could write about. Find something that is interesting to you!

Being Personal:
While someone in the future may read your diary to learn about you and your time period, the diary is mainly just for you! Amelia Martin used her diary as a friend because her family lived on an island with no one her age. You can write personal feelings and thoughts in a diary that you may not want to share with anyone else. Keep your diary in a special place and you could even decorate it to make it extra personal. You can write in your diary everyday or whenever you feel like it. It's all up to you so have fun with it!